CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A critic of the "Church" of Scientology
said he is financing a new foundation named after
Lisa McPherson, a
Scientologist who died in 1995 while in the care[sic] of the
"church." Robert S. Minton said he would incorporate the
Lisa McPherson Educational Foundation.

McPherson, 36, suffered a severe mental breakdown 17 days
before she died of a blood clot in her left lung. Her death
prompted a wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Tampa, and criminal
charges against the "church" in Pinellas County.

Minton's foundation will reach out to disaffected members of
the "church" and educate the public about what he says are the
harmful effects of Scientology.

The new foundation will provide "exit counseling" for people
wanting to leave Scientology, said Minton, who has spent about
$2.5 million over the past three years fighting the "church."

At the same time, Scientologists have used McPherson's name in
registering two corporate names.

The Lisa Foundation Inc., or the Lisa McPherson Foundation
Inc., would work against the "hate-mongering" and "religious
intolerance" of Minton and his allies, said Bennetta Slaughter,
a Clearwater businesswoman and a Scientologist. She was
McPherson's boss and longtime friend, and will lead the groups.